There are more vines grown here than in any other neighbourhood, though, in consequence of the numerous attacks of disease—two scourges having several times threatened to completely destroy the vineyards: the dreaded Phylloxera insect, which attacks the roots of the vines, and also Oïdium Tuckeri, which settles on the leaves and fruit—together with the depression in the wine trade, vines are far less grown than formerly. Being trained over corridors—or latadas, as they are called in Madeira, pergolas, as they would be called in Italy—the effect is not only very pretty, but seems practical, as, being at a sufficient height from the ground, a labourer can work underneath them, and it is not uncommon to see another crop growing between the vines, though this practice of overstocking the ground is no doubt responsible for the failure of many a crop. The vines are pruned in February, though not to any great extent, and in April start into growth, and soon clothe the corridors with fresh young leaves and long twining tendrils. The flowers come in May, and by August the vines are laden with fruit ready for the harvest, which in early seasons begins in the lower regions late in August and continues, according to the altitude, until October.
The cultivation of vines and bananas, which were also grown at one time to some considerable extent, has been almost entirely replaced by that of sugar-cane, which, in consequence of the current rate fixed by the Government being a very high one, is at the present time a very profitable crop.
The cultivation of sugar-cane in the island dates from very early times, as in Cadamosto’s Voyages he writes that he visited the island in 1445, only twenty-six years after its discovery, and says: “Zargo caused much sugar-cane to be planted in the island, which has done well, and from which they have made sugar.” Mr. Yate Johnson says: “The cane is thought to have been introduced from Sicily about 1425, at the instance of Prince Henry. The first plantation was made on the site of the Cathedral, and did so well that the cane spread to other localities. Matters proceeded so rapidly in those days that in 1453 a mill was erected for crushing the canes by means of water-power.... Prince Henry was a good business man, and knew what he was about in making a bargain, for it was stipulated that he should receive one-third of all the sugar produced. Another stipulation was that the mill was to be placed where it would not be an annoyance to others, a regulation which, it is to be regretted, is not enforced at the present day. It is not known where this first mill was built, but it is more likely to have been in Funchal than anywhere else.” By 1498 the production of sugar is said to have increased to a very large extent, and then came troubles in the trade. The introduction of the cane to the West Indies and its extensive cultivation there caused increasing competition in European markets, and led to a heavy fall in price; but notwithstanding this, the cane continued to increase in Madeira, and by the end of the fifteenth century a large number of slaves were employed, both as labourers on the land and in the mills, which by now had increased in number to 120, on the southern side of the island.
Early in the sixteenth century disease came, in the form of a grub which eats into the cane, and the plantations suffered severely from its ravages, though many attempts were made to check its depredations. Possibly this, combined with the abundant production in the West Indies, caused the sugar-growing in Madeira to become so unprofitable that the mills dwindled down to only three in number, and the cultivation of vines for a time reigned supreme. This, in its turn, received so severe a check through the grape diseases in 1852, that the cane was once more restored to favour and again extensively planted. The cultivation increased, and new crushing machinery was imported from England; steam-power replaced the more primitive methods of water-power, or working the mills with bullocks only. After the revival, for a time the cane was only used for its juice, to be distilled into spirit (aquardente), but gradually, new sugar-making machinery having been imported, its manufacture was resumed and continued, until it has now reached the vast amount of about 2,500 tons per annum.
Different kinds of cane have been introduced, and if the cultivation is to be continued at the present enormous extent, artificial manures will have to be largely employed to prevent the soil becoming exhausted. The cane—I may say luckily—cannot be grown above an altitude of about 1,700 feet, or it would seem as if there would be no end to its cultivation, which by no means adds to the beauty of the island, and to my mind is an unsightly crop.
RED ALOES
CHAPTER IX
A RAMBLE ALONG THE COAST